Field of Art
This application relates in general to streaming video and in particular to encoding streaming video to reduce latency between streaming the video and beginning playback.
Description of the Related Art
High definition video, high frame rate video, or video that is both high definition and high frame rate (collectively referred to herein as “HDHF video”) can consume a large amount of transmission bandwidth when transmitted or transferred. Accordingly, transmitting even a small number HFHF frames may take a noticeable amount of time (e.g., around a second).
When a video is streamed for viewing, the video player may buffer a minimum number of video frames. The minimum number of frames may correspond to a minimum amount of time (e.g., ten seconds) to prevent pauses in video playback due to momentary losses of connectivity. Typically, a video player buffers at least a full group of pictures before beginning playback. However, when streaming a HDHF video, the time to buffer the full group of pictures results in a noticeable delay before the video begins playing. Accordingly, present methods have noticeable latency when streaming HDHF videos.